Villa Park cop shoots pit bull biting girl's foot

April 24, 2008|By Josh Noel, TRIBUNE REPORTER

A Villa Park police officer fatally shot a pit bull this week while its jaws were clenched around a teenage girl's foot, officials said Wednesday.

Police Lt. Mike Lay said the 13-year-old girl was riding a bike alongside her brother about 7 p.m. Monday when the dog, which had escaped from a yard in the 400 block of North Iowa Avenue, began chasing them.

The dog bit tires on both bikes, puncturing the boy's, and bit the girl on the shoulder, knocking her to the ground.

The girl and her brother ran to a nearby recreation center, police said. While the boy made it inside, the girl didn't, and the dog bit her foot, clamping down on her entire shoe and refusing to let go, Lay said.

A maintenance worker tried grabbing the dog by the collar, but the animal wouldn't budge, Lay said.

The first officer at the scene judged that the dog would not let go and fired a single bullet into the dog's side, Lay said. The dog limped away and collapsed on a patch of grass, Lay said.

He died at an animal hospital without being euthanized, Lay said.

The department is reviewing the shooting but believes it to be reasonable use of force, Lay said.

"They saw the dog wasn't going to let go," Lay said. "There is no indication that anything was done wrong."

The investigation is continuing, and the dog's owner might face charges, Lay said.

The girl, who apparently did nothing to provoke the dog, was released from Elmhurst Hospital after getting about 10 stitches, Lay said.